gelloudes
demonic intermediate Byzantine folklore single tradition · 1
The gelloudes were considered synonymous to the stryngai or "witches" by John of Damascus, and described as beings that flew nocturnally, slipped unhindered into houses even when windows and doors were barred, and strangled infants. Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos told of gelloudes that "bring the infant from the bedroom, as if about to devour him."
When
- First attested
- 600 CE
- Attested period
- 600 – 1300
- Historical notes
- Attested from the 7th century through the 14th century.
Relationships
Mentioned by
Sources
wikipedia (1)
Source passages
“even though the original Gello was a young woman who died a virgin, the gelloudes which became synonymous with stryggai or "witches" in the Christian era, were generally regarded as being old envious crones. Equating gelloudes with the stringai, which occurred by the seventh to eighth century”
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